NFL’s Matt Birk: ‘Defending traditional marriage is in line with God’s will’

Just two days after penning an op-ed in the MinneapolisStar-Tribune in which he wrote that “same-sex unions may not affect my marriage specifically, but it will affect my children,” Baltimore Ravens center (and former Minnesota Viking) Matt Birk reiterated his opposition to marriage equality in a video supporting Minnesota’s proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

In the video, released Monday by the Minnesota Catholic Conference, said he has a responsibility to seek to know God’s will, and he believes defending traditional marriage is in line with God’s will.

Watch:

Birk, a Minnesota native and father of six, is urging voters to support the state’s anti-gay marriage amendment, because same-sex marriage “will affect the broader well-being of children and the welfare of society.”

Birk’s remarks follow the recent debate on the issue in which Ravens’ linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo came under fire from Maryland lawmaker Emmett Burns, who demanded the Ravens silence Ayanbadejo’s public support for same-sex marriage.

Minnesota Vikings’ punter Chris Kluwe, also a marriage equality supporter, blasted Burns in a profanity-laced letter published last month at Deadspin.

And in response to Birk’s recent op-ed, Kluwe wrote, “I will support your right to worship at whatever altar you choose, but I will not support you trying to force it on someone else, or to deny someone else legal benefits due to religious reasoning.”

Birk said he wants to clarify that “not all NFL players think redefining marriage is a good thing.”